The maker of unsparing fare like Bad Lieutenant and Pasolini may seem like an unlikely tour guide.

But since moving to central Rome, Abel Ferrara has become a passionate advocate for one of the Eternal City’s largest open spaces. It used to be home to a gigantic produce market, but is now a rundown crossroads stop for immigrants struggling to get a toehold on Italian life. The potty-mouthed New Yorker interviews neighbours troubled, ambitious, resigned, and sometimes famous (like Pasolini star Willem Dafoe and his Italian wife), who sketch out a place full of history that is far from over. No idea why he uses the same Woody Guthrie song at least three times, though.